TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Japanese news media company Asahi conducted a national poll on Japanese citizens' opinions on the role the Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) should play in a potential Taiwan conflict.

The poll revealed that 80% of respondents are worried that Japan will become involved in a conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, with 52% expressing “great concern.” Of those polled, 56% said that the JSDF should limit its role in the conflict to rearguard support for the U.S. military.

In contrast, 11% of respondents said that the JSDF should support the U.S. in an active combat role, while 27% of respondents believed the JSDF should not assist U.S. forces at all.

The poll was conducted by traditional mail with a relatively small sampling. Asahi reports that 3,000 voters were selected at random nationwide, but only 1,967 (66%) returned valid survey responses.

The report indicates that respondents in southwestern Japan, which includes Kyushu and Okinawa, expressed the highest ratio of concern over a potential Taiwan conflict.

One question in the survey also asked whether “deepening relations with China” or “strengthening defense capabilities" would be better for Japan’s national security, in which 70% of respondents favored improving relations with China and 26% favoring strengthening Japan’s defensive posture.

In the past, the Asahi newspaper’s editorial board has called for limiting the scope of JSDF involvement in conflicts to support allies in military conflicts abroad. The newspaper does not support revisions of Article 9 of Japan’s post-war constitution, which renounces the right of Japan to engage in war to solve international disputes.